Mothers Milk – the new market for breast milk as a commodity.

Mothers Milk – the new market for breast milk as a commodity.

Got milk? Online sites selling breast milk are becoming more and more popular with serious profits to be made.

Mothers Milk – the new market for breast milk as a commodity.

Over the years we have seen a steady incline in the tradable market of Breast Milk. From café’s utilising breast milk for their ‘special’ ice cream, to bodybuilders buying it to supplement their workout routines, breast milk is fast becoming a profitable commodity.

The website that started it all in 2011 called Onlythebreast.com allows mothers to sell and buy breast milk at an affordable price.

The Craigslist style site offers mothers (and others) in need of breast milk, a safe and reliable method of purchasing milk with prices ranging from US$1-$5 per ounce.

The classifies offers an outlet for mothers to offset the cost of raising a child by selling their excess milk either for profit or for free.

Although there are altruistic goals to the website some women report earning up to US$20,000 a year selling their unwanted fresh and frozen milk.

The mothers stress the cleanliness of their pumping techniques, the rigorous testing of their milk for assurance against disease, bacteria and other toxins and proximity of extraction to childbirth.

Whilst this is an amazing outlet for mothers who wish to breastfeed and might not have the ability due for any number of factors, the website also offers a glimpse into the darker world of breast milk.

Many ads have to specify that whilst they will sell to men, they do not offer, under any circumstances wet nursing to men – that’s not to say that requests for the service aren’t posted to the website, in fact it shows posts offering up to 20 pounds for the opportunity.

The website and others like it have stimulated conversation about the regulation of breast milk as a commodity. With food regulatory bodies in England and the US warning against the consumption of human milk, due to the unpasteurised nature of the product, people are calling for a regulatory approach that will see breast milk being available form purchase in supermarkets.

While there are no plans to provide in-store access to breast milk, the online market is as popular as ever and continues to provide a booming economical advantage to mothers around the world.

Do you agree with mothers selling their breast milk for profit? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.